Disappointment In Kyiv

A loss is always disappointing, but it tends to hurt even more when your club is hosting a major international event such as the EuroCup Final Four.

It also tends to be more painful when the club President and national basketball legend never had the same opportunity.

This is the case for BC Kyiv after they were defeated by DKV Joventut 88-77 in front of their home fans and the club President Alexander Volkov.

Guilherme Giovannoni scored nine points in a losing effort

Volkov had a decorated basketball career, both at the national and club level. He was a part of the Soviet Union’s 1988 gold medal run, their first place finish at the 1985 European Championship and is one of the first European players to make the jump to the NBA.

However, he never had the opportunity to play in a Final Four in his native Ukraine.

"This hurts even more because Alexander Volkov told us in our last practice that we were lucky because he never had an opportunity to play in a Final Four in Kyiv," said BC Kyiv head coach Renato Pasquali.

"This year, we did have this opportunity and everyone understood what it meant for the people of Kyiv and Volkov. We are disappointed that we didn´t live up to expectations."